


Surprises

by TheLonelyJournalKeeper



Series: OWCA Agent AU [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Background Swanfire, Banter, Coffee Shops, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Miscommunication, Mistakes, OWCA, Phineas and Ferb au, Rumbelle - Freeform, Secrets, Spies & Secret Agents, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 12:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7361665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLonelyJournalKeeper/pseuds/TheLonelyJournalKeeper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To her surprise, Agent French is called to meet her nemesis at a local coffee shop. Even more surprising, he’s not the only person she recognizes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprises

**Author's Note:**

> Part two! Now with background Swanfire <3

_Today is just full of surprises_ , thought Agent French. The only thing that had been routine thus far had been her mission briefing. After that, things had taken a turn for the unusual. Not that she minded. Belle enjoyed a good challenge. 

Maybe that was why she had such a complicated relationship with her assigned nemesis. He was nothing if not a challenge. He was a mystery to be uncovered. 

Still, she thought she knew him pretty well by now which was why she was surprised to learn that she wouldn’t be heading to Mr. Gold’s penthouse apartment for her mission as was usually the case. Today she was headed for a rather trendy coffee shop. It wasn’t at all the sort of place Belle would have frequented herself (though she held nothing against those who did). She certainly wouldn’t have pegged it as the type of place Mr. Gold would frequent. 

She only became more certain of this when she saw him upon landing in her hovercraft. It was truly remarkable the amount the citizens of Storybrooke could miss. Hovercrafts were only the tip of the iceberg. 

Her nemesis was hovering outside the shop with an air of distaste when he turned and noticed her. 

“Right on time,” he quipped. 

“No trap today?” She asked, not noticing anything out of the usual. 

“No need,” he said. “I don’t believe either of us are too keen on causing a scene at this…fine establishment.” Belle got the impression fine was not the word he was looking for. 

“I can’t argue with you there,” she agreed. “We can be civilized about this.” 

“Of course.” He pried the door open, grimacing the cheerful chime of bells. It was a few seconds before she realized he was holding it open for her. 

“Very civilized,” she smiled, stepping through the doorway. He followed close behind her. 

“Well I imagine you don’t see much in the way of common courtesy what with that insufferable organization sending you after me at all hours of the day.” 

“Oh I don’t mind,” she said. “You’re the most interesting part of my day.” 

“I dare say the rest of your day must be absolutely dreary then,” he muttered dryly. 

She laughed, startling him. “So what is it today?” She asked. “And why are we here? I wouldn’t have thought it really your kind of place.” 

He snorted. “Indeed not.” 

“So?” She prompted. 

“I’m here to put this place out of business,” he said flatly. 

Belle merely raised an eyebrow. There was a time a while ago when she would’ve been shocked, perhaps even horrified by such a callous statement, but she had come to realize there was always a reason with Mr. Gold. It might not be a reason she agreed with. It might not even be justifiable, but there was always some kind of twisted logic at the heart of his schemes. It was never just evil for evil’s own sake. 

“Why?” She asked, unimpressed. 

“My reasons are my own,” he said, evasively. 

“Oh really?” She said. “I don’t suppose you’d be up for sharing them. Maybe over coffee?”

“I’m not giving my money to this place,” he said disgustedly. 

“I’ll pay,” she offered. 

“No, no, that’s really not-fine. If you let me pay, I’ll explain.” 

She smiled. “Deal. I’ll find us a seat while you order.” 

“What do you want?”

“Hmm surprise me,” she said. 

“And you trust that I won’t poison it?” 

She didn’t even deign that with a response, merely giggled and looked around the packed cafe for an empty table for two. 

Mr. Gold resignedly walked over to order. 

Before Belle could spot an empty table, she noticed something much more interesting.

As a matter of fact, it was someone. Neal, Mr. Gold’s son and he wasn’t alone. Was that Emma Swan? The daughter of Belle’s boss, Mary Margaret? 

This just screamed trouble. She hurried over to the two of them who were engaged in conversation. 

“Neal? Emma?” She said, surprised. “What are you two doing here?”

“Belle?” Neal looked up, equally surprised. Unlike his father who refused in a misguided attempt to keep professional distance between them, Neal readily called Belle by her first name.”What are you doing here? Wait…if you’re here…don’t tell me.” 

“I’m afraid so.” Belle confirmed. “He’s ordering drinks for the two of us now.” 

Neal groaned. 

“Wait, hold up,” Emma interrupted. “Are you saying Neal’s dad’s here? You’re his assigned nemesis, Belle French, right?” The two hadn’t met in person before.

Belle nodded. “That’s me.” 

“You’re a good agent. I’ve read your file. I guess you’d have to be since you’re ‘the Dark One’s’ nemesis.” 

“He’s not so bad,” Belle said, rather affronted by the agency’s choice of codename for him. “O.W.C.A. makes him out to be a lot worse than he is.” 

“Forget all that,” Neal said. “What’s he doing here? I picked this place specifically because he hates it.” 

“Nice,” Emma commented dryly. 

“He says he’s going to put it out of business,” Belle informed them. 

“Put it out of-?” Neal groaned again. “Listen, Belle, would you do us a huge favor and keep him distracted? Make sure he doesn’t see us.” 

“Could you also not mention this to my mom?” Emma put in. 

Belle only wavered for a moment. “Okay." 

“Thanks,” Neal said, immensely relieved. “Can you imagine my dad’s reaction if he saw the two of us together?” 

Since this comment was mostly directed at Emma, Belle took her leave. She wished the two of them well. She wished Mr. Gold well even more so perhaps it was best for everyone that she agreed to keep this a secret. 

Mr. Gold was known to be overprotective towards Neal. News of a date between him and the daughter of O.W.C.A.’s leader would not be well received. 

She quickly located a table as far away from Neal and Emma as possible and took a seat.

She saw Mr. Gold scan the cafe for Belle and quickly waved him over before he noticed Neal.

He took a seat opposite from her which was fortunate as his back was now facing Neal and Emma. If she could just keep him focused on her for the duration of Emma and Neal’s date, she’d be well…golden. 

“Here,” he said, selecting one of the drinks from the tray and handing it to her. “I seem to recall you saying you preferred tea over coffee.” 

She took a sip and grinned. Iced tea. “Delicious. Thank you.” 

“It’s no matter,” he said, appearing somewhat confused as to how far this supposed confrontation between nemeses had derailed. 

Belle wasn’t concerned by that. As a matter of fact, if she ignored why they had come here and the unexpected presence of Neal and Emma, she could almost imagine this was a date. She wasn’t sure when that possibility had become so appealing, but somehow it had. 

“What did you order?” She said relaxedly. 

“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure,” he admitted. “Everything had such ridiculous names. I was lucky to get the iced tea.” 

Belle laughed. “Yes, they do overcomplicate these things.” 

“Indeed.”

“So why are you going to put this cafe out of business?” Belle asked, not doubting for a second that he could. “They make such lovely iced tea.” 

Mr. Gold ruminated on his answer over his mystery beverage. "You might be surprised to learn, it’s not just because I can’t stand the place.” He said at last. 

“Oh?" Belle said, interest piqued. “Then why?” 

“As it so happens, this cafe’s sudden increase in popularity has given rise to the possibility of it becoming a chain. Needless to say, the owners of this establishment stand to gain quite a lot of money should this occur, but that isn’t what concerns me. It’s who else stands to gain from this.” 

“And who might that be?” Belle said, taking a sip of her iced tea. 

“Take a guess.” 

“Hmm…the suppliers of the cafe?” 

Mr. Gold smiled in a way that made Belle’s stomach flip. “Correct,” he said. “Specifically, the suppliers of the coffee beans and those in alliance with them.” 

“And who are they?” 

“You know them very well.” 

“…O.W.C.A.? But we don’t…oh! You’re talking about that company Mary Margaret has an agreement with. They manufacture all sorts of things and we get some of the profit because of some sort of agreement. What’s the name again? Three Dwarves or something?” 

“Seven,” he corrected. “But yes. In the long term, O.W.C.A. could benefit from this quite substantially, but that’s only part of the reason.” 

“There’s always more with you, isn’t there?” She said fondly.

“I suppose so. In any case, Seven Dwarves is owned by Fairy Dust Inc. which is headed by the “Blue Fairy” herself,” he said in disgust. “As if the fairy tale motif wasn’t enough to warrant my antipathy.” 

“What’s wrong with fairy tales?” Belle said. 

“They’re misleading. There’s no such thing as a happy ending. It’s a bunch of childish nonsense.”

“That’s not true,” Belle disagreed. “It’s just that happy endings take work.” 

“Happy endings take luck," he disagreed. “If they’re even possible, you need to find yourself born to one and then have a whole lot of luck on top of that.” 

“I don’t-“ 

“Let’s not argue over something as pointless as the possibility of happy endings. I trust you can see my reasoning now. It’s simple business really.” 

“And I trust you see why I have to stop you?” 

“Naturally. Well let’s get on with it, shall we?” He stood up. 

Panicked, Belle glanced at Neal and Emma who were still seated at another table. She grabbed his arm. “Wait!" 

He glanced down at her hand, looking startled. “Yes? What is it?” 

“Are you ever going to tell me what you have against Rheul Ghorm?” That was the actual name of the woman who styled herself the Blue Fairy. 

“No,” he said shortly, but he sat back down. 

“Alright,” she said. “You keep your secrets for now. Will you tell me how you plan to put this place out of business at least?” 

“Very well,” he said. “It’s quite simple-“ His explanation was cut short by raucous laughter that-with a jolt of panic-Belle recognized as Neal’s. 

“Did you hear that?” He frowned. “I could’ve sworn that sounded like-“ 

“Hmm?” Belle said innocently. “I didn’t hear anything. Who did you think it was?” 

“Never mind,” he said. “As I was saying, this is a simple plan though it requires subtlety.”

“That’s how you prefer your plans,” Belle commented. “How was it you put it? Small weapons.” 

He graced her with a slight smile. “Quite right. All I need to do is put this,” he drew a small vial of glowing, purple liquid out of his pocket, “in the pitcher of milk and the rest will take care of itself.” 

Belle was impressed and more than a little bit concerned. “How will that happen?” 

He smirked. “I can’t tell you all my secrets.” 

“I don’t suppose you’d surrender it to me now so we can keep enjoying our lovely drinks?” 

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Agent French, but I have a reputation to uphold. You’ve been doing far too well of late for my liking." 

“Oh really now? You can’t honestly tell me you weren’t relieved when I foiled some of your latest schemes. They weren’t going to end well and you knew it."

He grimaced, but didn’t argue. “Be that as it may, I intend to carry out this plan regardless of what you think.” 

“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to fight today. I don’t want to make a scene.” 

“Neither do I, Agent French,” he replied. “So perhaps it would be best if you resigned yourself to this loss.”

“That’s awfully confident of you,” she noted. 

He shrugged.”I thought this one through.” He did a good job of acting nonchalant and sure of himself, but Belle knew his tell. He rubbed his thumb against his index finger just like he was doing now which meant he had no ace up his sleeve. Belle had a very good chance of winning this then.

The only wild card was Neal and Emma’s presence. They were what set this apart from an average confrontation. She would have to play this carefully just to be safe. 

“And how do you plan on getting back there to put your potion in the milk?”

“Potion? All this talk of fairy tales is going to your head.” 

“Maybe so.”

“Well I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t intent to let you fall into the trap of thinking good always wins.” 

“Oh? So this is for my benefit now, is it?” 

“Plans within plans.” 

“Of course.” She made a sudden grab for the vial, but he quickly batted her hand away. 

“You really think it would be that easy?”

“Maybe. I thought we agreed we didn’t want to make a scene.” 

“Correct. So how are you planning on stopping me?” 

Belle was thinking fast. The way she saw it, she had three choices in front of her. One) resort to violence. Not really her style but it had been known to work on occasion. Here however, any attempt to seize the “potion” by force would warrant them a lot of unwanted attention and possibly end with someone’s arrest. Two) use her brains. This was usually her preferred tactic, but today she could only think of one possibility that might stop him. Alert him to Neal’s presence. She knew he wouldn’t dare try anything if he knew Neal could find out. Unfortunately, Neal had specifically asked her to do the opposite. That left option three, the most risky of them all: do nothing.

This wasn’t to say she would let him get away with it. It was more like she was waiting for an opportunity, 

And it was the best plan she had. 

“Go on then,” she said. “I look forward to seeing how you intend to get into an Employees Only area.” 

“Fine. Don’t count me out so quickly, Agent French.” 

“Of course not, Mr. Gold.” 

It was a source of endless stress to her how he could be so warm and interesting one moment and cold and closed off the next. 

He stood up abruptly, leaving his mug of mystery beverage on the table and strode towards the counter like he owned the place which came naturally to him as he owned a good many places. 

Not this one though. So surely they wouldn’t let him into restricted areas. 

Belle didn’t really believe that. He had a silver tongue and a lot of power so she stood up and followed him. 

Another reason was that he was headed very near where Emma and Neal were seated and she needed to keep him distracted. 

Fortunately, he was intent on his task and didn’t notice. He was talking in very low tones to someone at the counter, leaning forward on his cane in a way meant to be intimidating. 

He did notice her when she drew near however. It was difficult not to as she stumbled in her heels and grabbed his arm for balance. 

“Is there anything you’d like to say, Agent French?” He said in a low voice. “I was just explaining to this fine gentleman that it would be in his best interests to let me pass.” 

Belle set her lips into a hard line, not impressed or pleased. “His best interests? I highly doubt that.” 

The barista looked highly uncomfortable, like he really didn’t care either way but didn’t want to get into trouble. 

“Really now, Agen-“ He broke off. It didn’t take Belle long to realize why. She heard it too. A very familiar murmuring of a voice. She couldn’t catch the words, but Mr. Gold’s ears were fine-tuned to this particular frequency as it were. 

Too late, Belle realized she should’ve gotten either Mr. Gold or Neal and Emma out of the shop if they truly intended to keep this a secret. 

“That definitely sounds like—“ 

Belle wished she could’ve said she’d thought what she did next through. She wished she could’ve said it was all part of some clever plan to thwart her nemesis. Unfortunately, stopping his scheme was the furthest thing from her mind as she cut him off mid-sentence with a kiss. 

Only two thoughts were in her mind as she did so. _I can’t let him see them._ And, still lingering nearby from losing her balance, _God, he’s so close._

And so, her brain seized on the first way to distract him she could think of which happened to be kissing him. She couldn’t say she was thinking very clearly at the time, but truthfully, she couldn’t regret her decision. 

His lips were just as soft as they looked. His hair was even softer. 

She heard a sound like a glass shattering, but she wouldn’t have paid it any mind had Mr. Gold not jerked away violently. 

He looked down at the floor and then back at her. She followed his gaze to a mess of glass shards and purple liquid. 

_Oh_. He’d dropped the vial. Had she startled him that much? 

That was a good thing and she felt a flicker of pride. Even more so at the fact that any thoughts of Neal’s presence had been wiped from his mind and that the barista had left and was now ignoring them. 

But Mr. Gold’s face was a riot of expressions, shock, amazement, confusion, slowly turning to anger, and that made Belle’s heart climb into her throat. She really hadn’t thought this through. She’d upset their balance. 

In a day full of surprises, somehow her own impulsive action was the most shocking thing. 

“You just—“ His wonderstruck expression hardened into a scowl. “That was a cheap tactic, Agent French. I would’ve thought you a better agent than that.” 

“I—I…” What could she say? It was an accident? Untrue. It hadn’t been about getting the vial? That was true, but she couldn’t say why she’d done it either. Neither of the reasons would have done and as he closed off, she thought he might not believe her anyway. “I didn’t mean—“ 

“Enough,” he said sharply. “You’ve won. Good has won,” his voice took on a mocking tone. “Congratulations. There’s no need for you to stay any longer today.” 

That hurt. Belle had fallen into a habit of staying behind after official business had concluded to see that he was alright or simply enjoy his company. 

“Run along back to your silly organization. You’ve got what you want.” 

“What are you—“ 

“If you won’t leave, I will.” 

He strode off, leaving Belle utterly bewildered at what she’d done to provoke such a response. 

She’d kept Emma and Neal’s secret. She’d saved the day. 

So why did she feel like she’d just made a very big mistake? 

She could only hope it was repairable. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have an idea for a third part, but I'm afraid I can't make any promises as to when I'll get around to writing it.


End file.
